Exceeding Expectations
In Episode 4 of the BBC TV programme ‘Amanda and Alan’s Spanish Job’ (to be aired on 14th February) you will see a segment filmed at our Granada Cultural Holidays Flamenco performance. This show is put on every year at the end of our week-long ‘Flamenco: Dance, Music and History’ course and is a highlight of what is always a really joyous week. It has become an integral part of the cultural calendar in Moclín and something of which we are very proud.
One of our guests from last year, and one of the dancers who appeared in the performance, wrote the following article for her company’s magazine, and we thought it gives good insights into what it is like to take part in our Flamenco holiday.
“As I write this article looking back on the last quarter as well as looking ahead to next quarter, I am aware that there are many current topics I could discuss – the impending UK and US General Elections, the unexpected coalition of opposing political parties (the DA and ANC) in South Africa, the UK immigration crisis, the ongoing Israel-Gaza war - to name a few. I could also discuss the myriad of exciting summer events taking place - the Olympics, Euro 2024, Wimbledon, T20 Cricket World Cup, the Tour de France etc; however, after a recent trip I took to Moclin, Spain, I feel I must write about my experience.
It's not often one feels that the value one has received far exceeds the cost that’s been paid. When deciding on a milestone birthday gift for my mother and niece, I had to rack my brain for an experience to mark the occasion. I came across a 7-day creative Flamenco dancing course in Spain – aimed at immersing oneself in the culture and history of Granada and Flamenco – and thought that this would make a suitably memorable gift.
It was a full year of anticipation waiting for the course to start – we could not have been more excited - even though we did not really know what to expect. Finally, the day arrived for us to start our journey to Spain – but it was not without some initial hiccups!
Our flight to Spain was delayed by 5 hours, resulting in us having to take an ‘emergency’ flight. There was also a moment of panic when one of us couldn’t find our passport at the airport – exciting (read: stressful) times. After eventually arriving in Malaga, we were met by our long-suffering taxi driver who had been patiently waiting for hours. After a hair-raising dash from the airport to our accommodation, all stress from the day’s misadventures were soon forgotten as we wound our way high up the mountain (note: this is testament to the breathtaking views as the winding roads had few barriers and we were travelling on the right-hand side of the road with a sheer mountain drop ever-present!). Once we entered Moclin, we realised that we were in for a unique and amazing experience. With 200 inhabitants, this historical town is set amongst undulating hills covered in expansive olive groves with the ruins of a Moorish castle dominating the skyline.
Our course took place in the hostal rural, on the edge of the village, which was built in 1954 as a barracks for the Guardia Civil. With the Moclin castle as our backdrop to the dance studio, we were taught the tropical ‘Guajira’ style of Flamenco which involved us using fans (not as easy a task as one might think), beautiful mantilla scarves and, of course, wearing colourful dramatic Flamenco skirts!
While our expectation was that we would receive a brief overview of what Flamenco is and learn only a few basic dance steps, we were fully immersed into the music, history and dance of Flamenco from day one. This was no more evident than when on the first day, Jacob, a professional Flamenco singer, asked us each individually to sing a Guajira style song in Spanish in front of the whole class – while attempting to sing with the distinctive Flamenco vibrato AND staying in tune! This was a VERY uncomfortable moment for us (akin to having to speak publicly to a crowd on a topic you have absolutely no idea about); however, after 5 days of encouragement to ‘be brave’ and sing, we finally understood why this was such an important part of the course.
In Flamenco, the dance interprets the song that is sung by a cantaor or cantaora. The Arabic, Christian, Jewish, Gypsy, Celtic, South American and Andalucian Folklore influences are evident in the various Flamenco music styles with the hands, arms and footwork interpreting each style.
When we were told that we would be performing a Flamenco dance to the song we had learnt in front of all the Moclin villagers at the end of the course, this felt even more out of our comfort zone – especially considering that Flamenco is ingrained in Andalucian culture from a young age, and any out-of-time footwork would be easily noticed by the knowledgeable audience. Flamenco is deeply personal to the villagers, so we knew that we needed to perform well. No pressure!
Throughout the week leading up to the performance, our hosts provided us with every opportunity to learn more about the culture and history of Flamenco with the aim of helping us to truly understand the dance we were going to perform – and why. From watching a professional Flamenco dance show, to visiting the Sacromonte caves which provided a history of the origins of Flamenco, to visiting a Flamenco dance shop in Granada to choose our traditional dance outfits, and of course to sampling a variety of delicious tapas, we could not have been better prepared.
There was always the option of choosing not to participate in the show if we really didn’t want to – and this gave us some level of comfort throughout the week. However, by the time the day of the show came around, while only slightly terrified of performing, we knew that if we didn’t participate, we would very much regret it. We owed it to our hosts, our teachers and ourselves to perform. And that we did.
The show went much better than expected – with only one or two mishaps (a fan slipping from fingers and accidentally flying across the stage and a barely noticeable misstep or two), but the appreciation and applause from the audience was genuine and we could not have been prouder. We took a risk, and it paid off.
The immense value we feel we received for what we paid cannot be overstated. Each and every interaction was memorable. We were encouraged to take some risks – and while slightly uncomfortable at times, the value we derived from the experience will be felt for a long time to come.
As I sit back at my office desk in the UK (our trip seems a very long time ago!), I can’t help but notice some parallels between my experience and the experience we believe our EB Wealth clients encounter when interacting with us.
While we understand that taking risks in terms of investing your funds is not easy for you, we do our best to help you understand and prepare you for the inevitable highs and lows of stock market performance. And while there may be some market hiccups along the way, taking and managing small, calculated risks helps our portfolios to outperform, giving you consistent value over the long term.
Even though outperformance of the market is always something we would like to achieve, what is perhaps even more important for us is overdelivering on the service we provide to our clients. We want to exceed expectations and provide value for the fees you pay. We recently asked all our clients to complete a client satisfaction survey on the service received over the years from EB Wealth. The responses speak for themselves with 89% giving us a 5 out of 5 rating for our “overall service” and 72% giving us 5 out of 5 for “value for money”. Furthermore, all of the remaining respondents gave us a 4 out of 5 rating in both categories. We are extremely grateful for the positive feedback and proud to be delivering the service that we strive for, providing value to our clients and exceeding expectations in more ways than one – and that’s something to sing and dance about.
Ole!
Amber Moon
EB Wealth
Granada Cultural Holidays. Flamenco performance2024. Moclin
Join us this year for our ‘Flamenco: Dance, Music and History’ Cultural Course Holiday, 17th - 24th June 2025. Everyone is welcome and no experience is necessary! All you need is a desire to immerse yourself in this most passionate and emotive Andalucian artform, and enjoy lots of good food and wine.
